@Harvey said:
Because they can be? They serve up dribble and keep their 1st grade spots regardless. Has been happening since Sheens was here. I think that the training needs to be much harder contact. Even players that have shown that mongrel seem to lose it when they get here (Grant, Aloiai).
This was in an article written about Adam Blair last year and his time with us…..
"Blair, who has found a new lease of life at the Broncos this year after rediscovering the form that made him one of the most damaging forwards in the NRL, was so committed to the Tigers he even paid out of his own pocket for additional training.
“I praised ‘Blairy’ for what he was doing for the club and there seemed to be an agenda there to try and move him out for some reason,’’ Potter, who was dumped by the Tigers at the end of last season, told The Australian yesterday. “I couldn’t understand it because he was one of our best forwards for the two years that I was there.
“He copped a hard time and I thought it was unjustified. People thought the value he was giving the club for his wage wasn’t equitable, but I thought by far he was one of our best forwards for most of last year. There were a couple of people within the organisation that didn’t have that opinion and that’s unfortunate.”
Blair paid for some of his teammates to join him doing extra training outside the club, including Bodene Thompson, Martin Taupau and Sauaso Sue. Potter said their attitude differed from others who thought the club’s program was enough to “get them through”.
“He was exceptional in his training, he wouldn’t compromise on his training, **and some of the other players didn’t like the way he trained because he trained too hard for them,**’’ Potter said.
“He was going very good for the Tigers and one thing I told him was not to change his work ethic, and his attitude to training, and his attitude to playing because of the peer pressure. People talk about culture and they talk about work ethic and he was one player that you’d have in your team.
“That’s part of the reason Wayne Bennett grabbed him at his first opportunity because he knew the value he added. That’s why Tim Sheens got him (to the Tigers) and he was there when I arrived but you could see the divide there.
“There was some unjustified criticism that was thrown against his desk at Wests Tigers that was unfortunate but you’ve seen some of the stuff that’s gone on there.’’
https://www.reddit.com/r/nrl/comments/3n2tt0/adam_blair_trained_too_hard_for_the_tigers/
It's interesting that three of the four players mentioned are no longer with us (and Sue is yet to re-sign). Players that have been in the system a while get used to the culture, don't know it to be different and are unable to change. Benji Marshall even confessed to being “lazy, out-of-shape and lacking desire”. Surely the new brigade (the likes of Sironen etc) see that and act the same?
What does the coach do? Well you drop them, interchange them, don't renew contracts, release them etc) and get in blokes who can lead the change. Elijah Taylor by all accounts is that type of player and I would suspect so is Ballin and we need more of them.
That to me is why Farah needs to go and why Jason Taylor, who of course has made mistakes needs to stay on. He has started making the tough decisions and to get someone else now puts us back many many steps.
